There are 8 confirmed members for this trip. Jim M. and the other Jim M. and Vernon are leaving Thursday. Sands will be coming up from his lakehouse in Arkansas. Rob is arriving late on Friday. That means leaving Nashville with the trailer Friday morning are the three stooges Skip, Josh and Kirly. We will leave Friday at 6:00 am. That's early but it's only 7-o'clock under the old Daylight Savings Time and it's going to be worth it to get some daylight on the river the first day. Regardless of where you are coming from, the plan is to meet at the put-in at 1:00 pm. Friday afternoon.
The put-in is called "Turner's Mill North" which is one of the public access points on the Eleven Point River. The closest town is Alton, Missouri, but the river is east of Alton so those of us coming from Tennessee will hit the country roads before reaching Alton. If you can get "Riverton, Missouri" on your GPS, that is our take-out and would be even closer. Here are the maps and directions:
Tennessee-to-Missouri:
Take I-24 West to Paducah about 135 miles
Get off I-24 at Kentucky EXIT 4 onto Hwy 60 West
Take Hwy 60 west about 115 miles all the way to Poplar Bluff, Missouri which is tricky and involves the following: crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois, driving all of 5 minutes across the State of Illinois and into Missouri, following I-57 a short way (but still on Hwy 60), then continuing into Poplar Bluff, Missouri (still on Hwy 60)
In Poplar Bluff, turn south on Hwy 67 and go about 10 miles to Hwy 160
Take Hwy 160 west about 45 miles to the Eleven Point River in Riverton, Missouri
You are now at the river, but the Hwy 160 bridge in Riverton, Missouri is our take-out. About 6.5 miles before you get there you will pass Hwy J which is the way to the put-in. There are no landmarks, but if you see it you can turn right onto Hwy J before Riverton and save yourself 15 minutes. Otherwise, from Riverton see below:
To get to the put-in from Riverton, Missouri do the following:
Turn around. Retrace your route (i.e. go east) for 6.5 miles back up Hwy 160
Turn LEFT (north) off of Hwy 160 onto Hwy J (may also be called County Road J)
Go 7.5 miles north on Hwy J
Turn LEFT on County Rd. 164
Go 3.8 miles on County Rd. 164
Turn LEFT on County Rd. 158
Go 3.1 miles on County Rd. 158
Turn LEFT on County Rd. 3152 (I know it sounds like you're going in circles)
Go 0.9 miles on County Rd. 3152
Turn LEFT (it's true) on Forest Road 3190
Go 2.6 miles on Forest Road 3190 to Turner's Mill North Boat Ramp.
That's the put-in. We will meet there at 1:00 on Friday. Note that there is also a "Turner's Mill SOUTH Boat Ramp" on the other side of the river. You won't get there by accident, it's fifty feet away but an hour's drive by car. Just wanted you to know another one exists to avoid any confusion or in case you stop and ask for directions.
The other things we decided are:
1. Definitely BYOB. That includes beer and brown liquor;
2. BYO Ready-rolls too;
3. Jim M. will bring both his canoe and the other Jim M.'s canoe on his truck. Chris will bring his own. We will bring canoes for Vernon, Kirk, Rob and Skip. Josh, drop yours off this week if you can;
4. Guitars are covered. Rob is bringing two and Chris is bringing one. Kirk: do not bring a guitar;
5. Jim M.: we still need to figure out Saturday lunch, and bring your big dining fly if you still have it;
6. Our float time on Sunday is short - about 90 minutes. Everyone on this trip has personal experience with RRCC Sunday departures so do your own estimate of ETA for the return. But allow time in your calculation for the shuttle, a six hour drive to Nashville, and a long lunch stop at Lambert's Cafe for some throwed rolls. It can be a long wait for Sunday lunch but we're going right through Sikeston and we have to do it.
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